On March 21 at 12:18 p.m., Officers Sean Podolski and Nick Funk responded to 278 Belleville Tpk. on a report of two men passed out in a vehicle. Officers awakened the men, but found driver Steven S. Delmauro, 53, of Cedar Grove, appeared to have been under the influence.
During his roadside investigation, Officer Podolski learned Delmauro allegedly ingested Xanax and had been charged with DWI the previous night in Belleville, also related to possessing Xanax.
Officer Podolski administered field-sobriety tests to Delmauro, who not only failed the tests, but also got caught tossing a bundle onto the sidewalk that contained nine wax folds of heroin. Officers later found one used and empty wax fold in his vehicle’s cupholder.
Delmauro was arrested and charged with DWI and illegal parking.
He was later held at the Hudson County Jail.
On March 20 at 4:17 p.m., Officers Sean King and Sean Podolski and Sgt. Pat Becker were dispatched to a residence for an assault in progress. There, they met a 27-year-old man who accused his 51-year-old father of striking him in the head with a piece of wood that had nails embedded in it. The victim had lacerated hands and removed his hat to display a bleeding cut on his head.
Officers arrested the dad and charged him by summons with aggravated assault and weapon possession offenses. He was later released.
On March 21 at 5:57 p.m., Officers Ryan Wilson and Ruben Rivera were dispatched to Marshalls store for a shoplifting. A loss prevention associate accused Alfredo Galarza, 54, Newark, of concealing $99.95 worth of underwear in a tote bag and passing all cash registers without paying.
Officers arrested the accused panty purloiner on a charge of shoplifting. He was later transferred to the county jail in South Kearny.
On March 22 at 12:51 p.m., Officers Jonathan Lima and Ellesse Ogando were sent to Marshalls where a loss prevention employee had accused Jennifer L. Gaffney, 45, of Nutley, of shoplifting. The store employee claimed Gaffney concealed $54.97 worth of children’s clothes inside a reusable Marshalls bag and then passed all points of sale without paying for the merchandise.
The officers arrested Gaffney for shoplifting and found she was also wanted by the Lake Como Municipal Court on a warrant charging an offense of driving with a suspended license. Lake Como released Gaffney with a new court date and KPD released her with a summons-complaint.
On March 23 at 10:22 a.m., Officers Pedro Pina and Andre Fernandes were dispatched to ShopRite where the manager accused Jahmere H. Merriweather, 25, of Newark, of carrying $17.42 of tuna fish and mango nectar out through the store’s “in” door without paying. Officers charged Merriweather with shoplifting and later released him with a summons.
At 11:53 a.m., the same day, Officers Jonathan Lima and Ellesse Ogando were sent to ShopRite where the manager accused Sandra D. Anton-Olivares, 34, of Harrison, of concealing $101.66 of groceries under a blanket in a baby carriage and passing all points of sale without paying. She, too, was charged by summons with shoplifting and then released.
Then, at 1:29 p.m., it was Officer Pedro Pina’s turn at ShopRite where a manager had detained Kendria Q. Powell, 32, homeless, in the parking lot. The manager reported Powell stole eight Monster energy drinks and a notebook by concealing the merchandise in a reusable bag and walking out without paying the $75.91 retail value.
The officer arrested Powell, finding a crack pipe in her pocket incident to arrest. She was charged by summons with shoplifting and possession of drug paraphernalia and later released.
On March 23 at 6:30 p.m., Officer Taylor Latka and several backup officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute on Kearny Avenue. A 42-year-old woman reported that her 28-year-old boyfriend punched her in the face and then departed on foot. Officer Latka quickly found the boyfriend in West Hudson Park with a bloody hand and arrested him.
The punching partner was charged with simple assault and then held at the Hudson County Jail.
On March 24, Det. Anthony Nunez and a team of officers executed a search warrant at the home of a 16-year-old robbery suspect and took him into custody. The boy was charged under juvenile delinquency with robbery, conspiracy, terroristic threats and shoplifting.
The charges stemmed from two incidents at the Quick Mart at 314 Belleville Tpk. First, detectives alleged on March 6 at 4 a.m., the juvenile and a second male attempted to buy vape e-cigarettes at the store but their purchase was refused by the storekeeper when they failed to muster payment.
Not to be denied, the two males then allegedly moved behind the sales counter, pushed and struck the clerk and then grabbed $1,051 cash and vapes before fleeing.
Several detectives identified the suspect from surveillance footage. They also noted he wore the same sweatshirt in a prior arrest booking photo the suspect wore during the robbery.
Then on March 15 at 9:52 p.m., Officer Lawrence Latka took a report from a Quick Mart clerk that the same juvenile suspect from the robbery had shoplifted three Lava brand vape pens worth $75 in total. In that incident, it was alleged the suspect snatched the vapes and dashed off without using force.
After his March 24 arrest, the boy was ordered to be held at a county juvenile detention facility.
Learn more about the writer ...
Capt. Timothy Wagner | Kearny Police Department
Capt. Timothy Wagner is the Kearny Police Department's public-information officer and the commander of the department's Internal Affairs Unit. He contributes the KPD Blotter weekly and writes it completely.